Improved rail wat-rail



To all whom t may concern:

tate e Letters Patent No. 97,832, dated December 14, 1869.

4Internetman RAILWAY-RAIL.

ThevSchedule referred to in these Letters Patent 'and making part of the same.-

' Be it known that I, J F. TALLANT, of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines, and State of Iowa, have invented a new and improved Railroad-Rail; and I do hereby'declare thatthe following isa full, clear, and

`exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of' this specification, in which-f- `Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through -the base portion of the rail.

AFigure 2 isa vertical transverse section through the two partsjcomposing therail. Figure 3 is a; top view of a section of rail, taken at a point wliere thezends of the two cap-pieces break joints with a base-piece.

Figure 41's au` elevation of the inner side of the rail,

' 'taken'at a point wherel the ends ofthe two hase-pieces i l break joints with a cap-piece.'

y Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding palts in the several figures.

-To enable others skilled inthe art'to understand my invention, I' will describe its construction and opv eration.

4In the accompanying drawings-f A represents the cap or top section ofthe rail, and B is the bed or base section, 'upon which the cap is' secured.

` anterior edge'.

Between the inferior end of the hooked lip c and theattencd surface of the portion d is a longitudinal conavity, which receives a corresponding longitudinal convex surwe'or ridge, h, which is the superior prominent'portionof the rail-base B. Thus, it will be seen that the hooked lip c, which is, ou the inner side of the rail, when laid down, will have a firm bearing or seat, andwill be sustained against lateral outward thrust.

From the rounded ridge h, the upper iiat surface t ofthe base Bis inclined outwardly to a' longitudinal groove or coucavity, which latter is terminated by a raised lip or ridge, f, and adapted to receive into it and afford a seat for the toe c of the at portion or ilange Z of the cap A.

The bottom or inferior side ofithe base B is flat, and may be made of any required width, and the thin lip f, forming the inner edge of this base, is adapted for receiving the heads of spikes, used in fastening the rails down to their cross-ties;

` @Care holes, which are made vertically through the flanges d d ot' the caps A,Aand through the outer lateral extensions of the rail-bases B B.

yIt will be seen, from the above description, that I` arrange two 'bars of metal horizontally, one above the other, so asto form a continuous railway.

The base or lower bar is so shaped and placed that no direct blow from the wheels of a passing train can `reach it.

` The cap is. so shaped as to work in with the common pattern of railway-iron, and'to sit astride of' said base, it .heilig firmly bolted to the base, so as to break joints, and form a continuous rail, which maybe used with the vcommon wooden ties and square spikes, or bolts ma'y be passed through both of said upper bars, anda-lso through a wrought-iron sleeper or tie, invented by me expressly for the purpose.- In this way, I forrn a permanent railway-track, which cannot get out of iorder, o1' lwork loose, so long as the metal oi' which itis composed retains its integrity.

The cap or upper bars may he secured to their bases by means ofslot-bolts, fastened under the rails or ties,.as the case may be, by screw-bolts, each one` having an inclined head, adapted to fit the bar, only i on one side, with a eorrespondiugly-shaped slot in the cap-bar, so that when the latter requires repair 4or removal, a quarter turn or revolution of said bolt will loosen the cap, and allow it to be removed, and another substituted in its stead. s

By making the cap B wedge-shaped, and using the largest end up, a large portion of the rail will not directly feel the weight and impetus or momentum of the trains, and that .portion of the rail is not liable to break in any ordinary contingency.

The principle of this invention may also be applied' to a rail which is rolled from a single bar of iron or steel. In that case, the cap or Atread ofthe rail is not placed over the middle of the base, where it is usually located, but is drawn inward toward the centre of the track, so that its inner side i's placed more nearly over thelinuer side of the base of the rail than its outer side is over the outer` side of that base. The weight of the train of cars, in that case, operates directly and essentially to prevent the disturbance of the rail, by the outward thrust of the car-wheels.

In the compound rail, I regard the flat portion of the cap, which is represented in section, at d, as being of prime importance in the formation ofthe rail. -But the hooked portion, shown in section at c, is not deemed indispensable, inasmuch as the downward pressure of the rolling stock will probably suiiice to prevent any disturbance oi" the cap of the rail by any laternlftbrust. I, however, prefer the use of the hook c in all cases, by way of more abundant caution.

I am mmre that many plans have heretofore been proposed for constructing :t compound rail of two lon gitudiuol ports, one of which shall comprise the buse und the other the trend or cap of the rail, and having near the extremity of the base B, Where it abuts firmly against u shoulder, e, or its equivalent, substantially in the manner :md for the purpose above Shown. i

2. lu a. compound mil, constructed as above described, the use of the hook-shaped wing c, to eid in resisting the outward thrust'of the car-wheels, substantially in the manner above described. f

J. F, TALLANT..

Witnesses CHAs. MASON, E. M. GREEN. 

